Thursday, February 10, 2011

The Big Cats: Lions in Africa

Most of the time when I think of our guild, Crafting for Animals, I think immediately of our domestic pets and feral animals, those who were once taken care of domestically.  I have written about fighting dogs, homeless potential pets, pet rescues, feral horses, and have even talked about the orcas (killer whales) and the issues they face as humans attempt to domesticate them.  But what of the wild animals in our world?
 
The truly wild animals that are attempting to co-habitate with humans on our Earth, the struggles they face as human populations continue to expand into what was their homes are facing major issues.  Their worlds are shrinking, their hunting land is vanishing, and many are hunted to extinction or near-extinction.  We humans and our influences are affecting much more than we can perhaps imagine.

I would like to focus today on the big cats, but mostly the lion because there is a new movie out this month called, "The Last Lions" that is being put out by National Geographic and is a true story of a mother lion struggling to care for her two lion cubs alone.  The film was taped over a period of six years and promises to be a very interesting and moving adventure!  See the trailer below to help the lions! 



Fact 1: I read that fifty years ago there were a half million lions in Africa, and today that number has dropped to about 20,000.   

That's a drop of 480,000 in just the past 50 years

and to top that off, 

Fact 2:  African lions don't have government protection!  While it might be difficult for us to change these facts alone, together we can make a difference.  Here's how: 
 
Spread the word 
and
donate and/or volunteer your time if you can


    Share this post on Facebook using the button at the bottom of this post, and don't forget to share the following links:


You can find a ton of information on big cats, their issues, photos, and learn about National Geographic's initiative for saving big cats on their site.  They've also included a place where you can upload your kitty's photo to help big cats!


In addition, for every person who views "The Last Lions " trailer on YouTube, National Geographic is donating $.10 each, for up to a million viewers!  

Watch it here, then send your friends, let's get a million viewers!





And a little something for you:
Head on over to enter the Sweepstakes brought to you by Botswana Tourism that is bringing a lucky winner to Botswana, where "The Last Lions" was actually recorded for a 12 day private safari, airfare both ways, all hotel accommodations, and travel within Africa!  You can enter this sweepstakes once per day until the end of March, 2011.  GOOD LUCK!



Together we can make a difference!

Written by Tsilos of TS Beading
Creator of Native American art, focusing on 
beadweaving traditional and contemporary designs

5 comments:

Expressions by BJ said...

This is a great post and I love movies or documentories like that. Although I love all animals, big cats in the wild are my favorites and we are losing many of them. Thanks for all of the info you added too. BJ

Chelle said...

This is a wonderful post. I hadn't heard about the movie. but it sounds very interesting. Every time I look at my own kitties I can see a bit of that big cat that's still in them. These wonderful creatures need to be protected.
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Pam said...

Very interesting and informative. People everywhere seem to have a real knack for screwing up the balance of nature in terms of animals and plants. Thanks for sharing about what is happening to the African lions.

Debra at Sleepy Cat Designs said...

Thanks for all the information. Lions have been intriguing to me since I was a little girl and watched "Born Free" and "Living Free." They are majestic and powerful...an important part of our world and should be respected and protected, for sure.

TS Beading said...

Thank you all for your comments, I'm glad you like the post and large cats are one of my passions as well.

Although I have a dog right now and no cats, I have had several cats in my past.

I saw on facebook earlier a way to donate $10 to help big cats, I'm going to paste the facebook text below. Once again, thank you everyone!

“We no longer have the luxury of time when it comes to big cats,” says Dereck Joubert. “They are in such a downward spiral that if we hesitate now, we will be responsible for extinctions across the globe. If there was ever a time to take action, it is now.” You can help. Text LIONS to 50555 to donate $10 to Nat Geo's Big Cats Initiative.